RxRights statement in response to House Judiciary Committee hearing on Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
posted Wed, 16 Nov 2011In response to today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Lee Graczyk, lead organizer of RxRights, issued the following statement:
“This hearing painted an incomplete picture of SOPA as it relates to drug importation. This does an injustice to legislators and American consumers who deserve a clearer understanding of the safe international sources of prescription medications available to them.”
“This hearing painted an incomplete picture of SOPA as it relates to drug importation. This does an injustice to legislators and American consumers who deserve a clearer understanding of the safe international sources of prescription medications available to them.
In his testimony, Pfizer’s John Clark fails to acknowledge that there are Canadian and other international pharmacies that do disclose where they are located, require a valid doctor’s prescription and sell safe, brand-name medications produced by the same leading manufacturers as prescription medications sold in the U.S.
These safe, licensed Canadian and other international pharmacies are accredited through our members, some of which include Canadian International Pharmacy Association, Pharmacy Accreditation Services and PharmacyChecker.com. These organizations have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to patient safety during the past decade, while ensuring patients have access to safe prescription drugs at affordable prices—up to 80 percent less than U.S. pharmacies.
In Chairman Lamar Smith’s home state of Texas, more than 50,000 patients have been importing safe, affordable prescription medications from legitimate international pharmacies. If SOPA is passed, they would no longer have access to these sources of their prescription maintenance medications they need to survive.
No one is opposed to eradicating true rogue online pharmacies that sell everything from counterfeit medicine to dangerous narcotics. However, SOPA’s overarching language, along with the testimonies heard today, misguidedly group the safe, legitimate international pharmacies in with the rogues.
The tech community’s general issues with SOPA are in line with our serious, legitimate concerns. If SOPA is passed, it would jeopardize the health of hundreds of thousands of Americans by cutting off their access to safe, licensed Canadian and other international online pharmacies."
RxRights also sent a letter stating our opposition to SOPA to all members of the House Judiciary Committee.